Mumbai attacks undo progress in Indo-Pak relations in 2008

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Dec 31 (PTI) Relations between India and
Pakistan, which appeared to be on course towards normalisation
after return of civilian rule in Islamabad almost touched a
nadir at the year end in the aftermath of Pakistani militants
carrying out a carnage in Mumbai.

The terror attacks cast a long shadow over a spate of
confidence building measures taken by the two sides to thaw a
long freeze in bilateral ties.

The attack drew international ire against Pakistan-based
terror groups and India asked Pakistan to shut down the entire
terrorist network operating on its soil.

But, Islamabad attempted to deflect international clamour
for action, saying it could only do so after New Delhi
provided evidence to substantiate any hand of its citizens in
the attack.

Islamabad's stone walling came even in the face of one of
the ten suicide attackers who came from Karachi being
apprehended alive.

The Mumbai carnage on November 26 came as the civilian
rulers had spent over a year spent consolidating their grip on
power and battling a raging Taliban insurgency in the
northwestern part of the country.

The Pakistan People's Party of slain former premier
Benazir Bhutto formed a coalition with its arch-rival PML-N
after the February 18 general election that was largely free
from interference by the powerful army and the Inter-Services
Intelligence agency, accused of rigging past polls.

Despite sharp differences on the issue of reinstating
judges deposed during last year's emergency rule, the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
succeeded in forcing former President Pervez Musharraf
out of office in August after a war of words that lasted
several months.

A weakened Musharraf resigned to avoid facing an
impeachment motion that the coalition threatened to bring
against him and was replaced the following month by PPP chief
Asif Ali Zardari. But even before Zardari's election, the
coalition broke up, with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif angrily
accusing the PPP of failing to deliver on various promises.

Through the year, Pakistan witnessed nearly 50
devastating suicide attacks, with the Taliban and other
militant groups striking with near impunity at high-value
targets even in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and Wah
cantonment.

Lt Gen Mushtaq Baig, the chief of military's medical
services, was killed along with seven others by a suicide
bomber when his car stopped at a traffic light in Rawalpindi
in February.

Nearly 80 people were killed when two suicide bombers
struck at an ordnance factory complex in Wah cantonment in
August.

Probably the most devastating suicide attack was the one
on the Marriott Hotel in the heart of Islamabad on September
20. A suicide attacker rammed a truck packed with 600 kg of
explosives into the hotel's gate, killing nearly 60 people,
including the Czech envoy.

Pakistani security forces kept up their campaign against
the local Taliban in the Swat valley of the North West
Frontier Province and adjoining tribal belt, particularly
Bajaur Agency, where the army claims to have killed over 1,500
militants.

However, the NWFP government last week described the
anti-militancy operation a failure and called for effective
action to rein in the Taliban.

The presence of terrorist groups on the country's soil
came to haunt the government in the wake of Mumbai attacks,
which India blamed on Pakistan-based elements like the
Lashker-e-Taiba.

Following the capture of gunman Ajmal Amir Iman, who
confessed to being a Pakistani who was trained by the LeT, the
world community mounted pressure on Pakistan to crack down on
militants.

LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, described
as one of the masterminds of the Mumbai carnage, was among
over 20 LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawah activists detained in an
operation by the army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's capital
Muzaffarabad. His current whereabouts are unknown.

After the UN Security Council declared the
Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a front for the LeT and put four LeT leaders,
including its founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, on a list of
terrorists subject to sanctions, the Pakistan government
clamped down on the Jamaat by sealing its offices and
detaining over 50 of its leaders.

India, however, said Pakistan needed to do more to rein
in militant and terrorist groups as tensions escalated between
the two sides despite the intervention of world powers like
the US and Britain.

Lt Gen (retired) Kamal Matinuddin, a leading defence
analyst, said the government will have to take "firm action to
eliminate religious extremists" in Pakistan's own interests
and not due to pressure from India or the US.

"We must put our own house in order as we cannot be held
hostage by the extremists," Matinuddin told PTI.

Though there is considerable "bitterness and anger" in
India over the Mumbai attacks, the "hype should be reduced by
both sides as any war or hostilities would be devastating for
both sides", Matinuddin said.

"There have been hiccups in the Pakistan-India peace
process in the past and we will overcome the current problems
too though it may take much longer," he said, adding that
recent Pakistani steps such as the increased air force
vigilance were aimed at sending out the message that the
country "is not sleeping and is prepared" for any eventuality.

Experts also believe that tackling the aftermath of the
Mumbai attacks and the Taliban militancy alone will help the
government to consolidate on the gains made through the
peaceful democratic transition earlier this year and to tackle
Pakistan's economic woes.

Pakistan's rupee plunged to Rs 84 to the US dollar in
November while the country's foreign reserves too plummeted,
forcing Islamabad to sign up for a bailout package from the
International Monetary Fund.

The global economic crisis too impacted Pakistan's
economy, with inflation soaring to about 25 per cent as the
country was refused financial aid by traditional partners like
China and Saudi Arabia.

"The government must use the aid from IMF and other
sources wisely and ensure that they are not wasted. It will
also have to act to address the disappointment and
disillusionment among people who voted the PPP to power," said
Matinuddin, adding that the democratic path, "despite all its
failings", remained the best option for Pakistan.

But the relations were back to freeze point by the year
end as despite initial promise of clampdown on terror network,
the PPP-led civilian government as well as the opposition
seemed to be working under apparent pressure from the army to
stonewall the clampdown. PTI